Rush Limbaugh’s Tough Talk: Is Chevy’s Volt A Non-Starter?

Between the "Government Motors" taint, the animosity towards Mr. Obama, the "range" issue associated with electric cars, and the cost of the car (vis-a-vis other products), GM has an iffy product on their hands.

1:47 pm July 30, 2010

JTG09 wrote :

Interesting how the WSJ portrays the Tax rebate as being the same as other manufacturer incentives. Hello! One is an incentive from the American taxpayer and amounts to a taxpayer giveaway to GM, while the other comes only from the bottom line of the car-makers. When did the WSJ become so ignorant of how business works?

1:50 pm July 30, 2010

innovation wrote :

Looking at almost all innovation, pessimism is always rampant, and Rush Limbaugh is the embodiment of pessimism, especially if it improves his bottom line. Anyone that wants to buy that mentality and attitude may but it is inherently "unamerican".

Remember when there was talk of designing a personal computer so every household could buy one and the "Rush Limbaughs" of the world said, "no way". Too bad they missed that bus.

2:22 pm July 30, 2010

Innovation wrote :

And for all who think I'm missing the point because this involves politics, I say, dreams are what America is about and when the investment community is at the age that they no longer believe in dreams and think the patent office should be closed, then I am glad the government is encouraging dreams. When we stop believing in the impossible and settle for the status quo, we have lost the "America" that our nationalism is all about.

2:36 pm July 30, 2010

mdubbleyou wrote :

investors who heed ANY of Mr. Limbaugh's advice will certainly be left out of the recovery.

2:51 pm July 30, 2010

godblessusa wrote :

Rush would root against apple pie if he was convinced that Obama favored it.

2:58 pm July 30, 2010

Mr. Peabody wrote :

I just came back from lunch and listened to Rush's comments regarding the Volt. I agree with him on many fronts, but he appears to be grossly ill-informed on a few matters regarding this car.

This is a Bob Lutz car, not a B.O. car. To call it Obama's car is a slap in the face of Lutz. This car was in development long before the financial crash and ensuing federal government power-grab. And if this were a technology like the Nissan Leaf (purely battery-driven), I would agree with most of what Rush says regarding what a "lemon" the vehicle might be.

But the fact of the matter is, this is a very good platform for a variety of car development projects and Lutz and his design team pre-Govt Motors are to be commended. This is not an electric vehicle limited to 40 miles as Rush seems to understand it. It's much more robust.

Given an expected total range of, say, 350 miles, allowing for 40 miles on batteries only, this is a car that has a range of approx. 310 miles on 6-10 gallons of gas (that's the anticipated size of the fuel tank). So even if the car goes 1 mile on it's initial electric charge, it will go another 309 miles on (say) 8 gallons of gas. In other words, 38 miles per gallon (and I believe these are pretty conservative numbers) in city driving.

Now, I am on board with Rush regarding the whole global warming hoax. Enough of the "saving the Earth" crap, people! But this car represents the prefect answer to what Lutz and the car guys at GM were facing with the increased CAFE regulations. If they could build enough of these vehicles and sell them to all the bleeding-hearts and take market share from Toyota in the process, then it freed them up to build more Lutz cars like the GTO, Camaro, and CTS-V for those of us who want them. It's a win-win.

And, keep in mind... this is the Model-T of the 21st century. This platform will only get better with more experience. I think a true high-performance variant of this platform driving the rear wheels would be huge. The high torque provided by electric motors would make driving it a blast. Picture a new, sexy interpretation of the Chevelle SS smoking Shelby Cobras at the drag strip on Friday night. Fun!

The first thing Republicans should do when they wrest back control of the government is return GM to private ownership via an IPO (or better yet, a spin-off via share distribution to tax payers... a fun little extra-something stuffed into your tax refund envelope). And the first thing the new shareholders should do is re-hire Bob Lutz as Chairman (sorry, Ed... it's just business).

3:04 pm July 30, 2010

MacDaddyWatch wrote :

The Volt will be the next Vega:

The resale or trade-in value will have to be adjusted downward by the price of the very expensive Korean-supplied battery that may have to be replaced every 6 years. So get ready to trade-down to a Vega at trade-in time. The battery is so large that the Volt is a 4 seater. The range of the very heavy battery is only 40 miles (211,200 feet) --there are no recharging stations out there. The back-up engine requires expensive premium gasoline and its mileage will be substantially reduced when the heavy battery is out of juice and it needs to be towed around like a refrigerator in the trunk at the expense of gasoline mileage. The taxpayer subsidy, about to be increased by 1/3 to $10,000 is temporary. GM now plans to deliver only 30,000 such vehicles in 2012--an inefficient, uneconomic monster-sized low volume loser.

This thing has loser written all over it....it should be named the Obamamobile.

3:07 pm July 30, 2010

johnny wrote :

i don't see people screeming for the volt. it's going to be an overpriced clump of metal.

3:16 pm July 30, 2010

MacDaddyWatch wrote :

Come and ride with me Lucile,
in my merry Oldsmobile!

Wooops, Oldsmobile. You remember the Oldsmobile that Government Motors used to make? Do you remember the Pontiac? Well, how about the VEGA?

The public has rejected GM with lost market share for 40-years. Anybody wanna bet against me? I say the Volt won't be around in 2015. Not only will the reject the Volt, Americans will continue to reject union and government owned/made vehicles. As for that GM proposed IPO...make room on the pink sheets for that POS.

3:29 pm July 30, 2010

nuclearboy wrote :

Actually, The Volt's 10,000 unit allotment for 2011 is selling out really fast. Some dealers are reporting that their entire 2011 allotment is gone in just a few days. The car is not shipping yet so that is pretty good.

We will see what happens when they increase the production numbers for 2012.

3:33 pm July 30, 2010

GetAclue wrote :

MacDaddy should get his facts straight before shooting from the hip. Go read about the Volt before you post erroneous facts. I would say that this is just a start or first step in ridding us of our dependency on dinosaur juice and I believe that it is time for us open our minds towards some cleaner transportation. You have kids....I do. As fas as bashing the domestic auto makers, go for it, but remember that they are about the only things left being produced on American soil, supplying American jobs. So go back and drive your 10mpg Tundra and feel good about it!

3:42 pm July 30, 2010

Mr. Peabody wrote :

@MacDaddyWatch

The only thing with "loser" written all over it is your post.

4:11 pm July 30, 2010

Alternative Energy? wrote :

I would almost be interested in one of these electric-ish vehicles if there was a way to plug my house into the car. Power outages are frequent enough where I live that being able to live for a few days off of the output from a vehicle is pretty appealing. A rough estimate is that I could get about 10 days of regular electric use out of a tank of gas in the Volt.. A bit pricier than a backup generator system, but I could still use it as a car for the 360 days of the year I have power.

4:18 pm July 30, 2010

Zach wrote :

I'm guessing Gibbs actually has a pretty good idea about how Rush rides. This is from a New York Times profile:

"Very rich people tend not to stint on transportation. For example, we drove to the house from the studio, Limbaugh at the wheel, in a black Maybach 57S, which runs around $450,000 fully loaded. He had half a dozen similar rides on his estate."

Hilarious that he drives a Maybach.

4:21 pm July 30, 2010

Sudie wrote :

Get a clue? Domestic cars made on \American soil. Does he know how many Fords are made in Mexico? And how many 'American" cars are made in Canada? look it up!

4:57 pm July 30, 2010

JR in CA wrote :

I think that the Volt leapfrogs the Japanese hybrids and is a great innovation. Of course it's first models are expensive, that always happens..... so if wealthy people start buying them then they will trickle down to the Middle Class. I like Rush on many things but he'd better not root against the Volt. IT'S A FOOT IN THE DOOR for reducing our dependence on foreign oil! I can forsee many people owning Volts and running them off of electricity produced by Wind, Solar and Nuclear..... it's a good vision! I URGE PEOPLE, DO NOT ROOT AGAINST AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY -- WHETHER YOU LIKE OBAMA OR NOT SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

4:59 pm July 30, 2010

Bobby wrote :

It's disgusting how many partisan haters are coming out of the woodwork to take potshots at the Chevy Volt, especially when it's obvious that they have no idea what they're talking about. They have no regard for American jobs, the American economy or America in general; all they know is that "evil Obama" is somehow connected to the Volt so they MUST make negative (and false) comments about the Volt. This kind of shameful at best.

5:07 pm July 30, 2010

Sally Sue wrote :

What I don't understand is......
Why not buy two Prius for the price of one Volt?
Prius is about $21,000
Volt is about $42,000

5:08 pm July 30, 2010

mark wrote :

this bodes well for the canary body-bag industry

5:11 pm July 30, 2010

Sally Sue wrote :

Remember Cash for Clunkers?
The sheeple got a very rude awakening when they realized hay had to pat TXXES on the rebate!

5:14 pm July 30, 2010

Yeah,yeah,yeah wrote :

You guys can argue all day pro and con......
At the end of the day the Volt will stand or fall on it's own merits.

5:18 pm July 30, 2010

mark wrote :

Gibbs was hillarious today. Hey, Gibbs, if its so easy for you to save 1million jobs and save an entire industry, what are you waiting for?!! take over the entire economy and give everyone a nice job, a house, a car, and a fat sack of cash!! the sad truth is that govt intervention of this sort props up on industry at the cost of crushing others by taking money from peter and giving it to paul. in this case, peter didnt have a powerful union and the nostalgia of a storied manufacturing history in his arsenal. so tough luck peters of the world, you just dont have the clout to get your slice of this american pie. and the losers in this type of farce will pick up the tab. in the end, we all lose at this game. the solution of course is a return to rational self-interest. read more Ayn Rand.

5:46 pm July 30, 2010

Mr. Peabody wrote :

Every time I pat TXXES she slaps me.

6:31 pm July 30, 2010

Roy H wrote :

So Limbaugh thinks that new products should be brought to market already mature and in high volume for low cost. Just how do you start to get there? Oh I know you wait until it is high volume in other countries and their market is mature, and proven high market in USA by millions buying the foreign product. So what US company is going to jump in and manufacture plasma TVs? I am sure Limbaugh will finance them as long as they just copy and don't try to innovate.

8:04 pm July 30, 2010

NekoSJG wrote :

I've tried to listen to Rush but his way of blabbering as facts makes my engineering mind short circuit with better things to do.

10:22 pm July 30, 2010

just do the math man wrote :

Look at the details of the car, Weather you like or dislike Rush L., His reliability & accuracy is 99% right on all areas of his predictions. I hate to admit it also but...the guy is right. The price on the car is $41,000. The rebate is $7,500. Lets look at the sales tax on this vehicle. By no way is it going to be a "Green" car. This car will require premium gasoline. Consider how much the electric bill will be to charge one of these (every 40 miles). Consider the carbon footprint this car will leave. Think of the potential environmental disaster that throwing the battery away is when it's time to replace that. Just something to think about.

3:08 am July 31, 2010

Brett wrote :

For Just do the math man: You bring up some good points that are worth looking at. How much the electric bill will be to charge it up: if your electricity costs are about average ($0.12 / kwh), then it would cost under $2 to completely recharge the volt's 16 kwh battery - Not bad, even compared to premium. The carbon foot-print? According to a study (http://mydocs.epri.com/docs/CorporateDocuments/SectorPages/Portfolio/PDM/PHEV-ExecSum-vol1.pdf) by EPRI (an electric utility industry group made up of the likes of GE and others) and NRDC (an environmentalist group all to prone to be critical of car manufacturers) even running off dirty old style coal, cars like the volt will do about 30% better in CO2 emissions. And the batteries? Over 90% of batteries today (not even looking to the advances of the future) are recycled. Personally, I hope my next car can be a volt.

6:53 am July 31, 2010

Al from Kerry wrote :

I don't except peak Oil, or man made Global warming. As the ground thaws it become more biologically active, thus more CO2 is released. Cost of Bio Fuels is about 50% higher than current Oil price. In Europe they tax Fuels to the point that many use Vegetable oil to run there Cars. If oil becomes more expensive the US government can stop paying farmers not to grow and a new source of energy maybe be created .The point is that Global warming is not man made and the East Angelica University Story Is an indication of fraud. When things are motivated by emotion they tend to be wrong,

8:50 am July 31, 2010

Enrique wrote :

Or an Audi, Mercedez, BMW, Lexus etc.

11:34 am July 31, 2010

relatively free wrote :

The writer is a lying weenie. First, please understand that Limbaugh fans are not all congenitally stupid as you clearly imagine they are. Plus, can you claim to be an actual writer when you pepper your stuff with lies? Can anyone claim to be an engineer when all that he designs has to be discarded because it doesn't work? Hint: It's child's play for an engineer to produce a machine which does NOT work. Likewise, it's child's play to make an argument based on lies.
Dear writer: Enjoy your life as a child.

12:58 pm July 31, 2010

Dickydoo wrote :

Rush - you speak for me - all I want is my GM (General Motors, not Gov't Motors) debenture bonds returned to full value. Meggadittoes. DD

10:21 pm July 31, 2010

SaveMyLand56 wrote :

I need an exact percentage of what percent of steel, parts etal will be produced in USA, since everyone is so positive of the jobs Obama Motors will be creating. One of the most important part (battery) from South Korea. Is every bolt, steel/metal, materials or whatever part for the engine manufactured in USA? Is there any car made that every single nut and bolt is made here. I'm not sure if Rush started out with $20.00 in his pocket at 18 like many of us did, but even if he has 20 cars at a hundred plus who cares. I think that great Rush, the rappers, sports figures can all help us keep the economy going. I hear the Hollywood crowd drive their kiddie cars during the day and after dark the big SUV comes out from their 6 car garage.

7:06 am August 1, 2010

Minuteman wrote :

Doesn't it still take fossil fuels to produce the electricity to power this car?

7:08 am August 1, 2010

Anonymous wrote :

I guess mr Limbaugh would rather have let GM and all the other recipients of public money go under. Then of course, being the kind, generous, and thoughtfull person he is, he would have paid all those made redundant a living wage to make up for them being thrown on the scrap heap.
Asfor the electric car industry and the american attitude to the car in general I think what is needed is a sea change in ideas. We can't keep on guzzling oil in the same profligate way we have been to date, something has to move and if it's not done from within then it has to be "forced" upon us. Maybe electric cars (with their limited range and capabilities) are the the future... I don't know but I'm prepared to give it a try, not for me but for my kids and the future of other kids. So Mr Limbaugh please stop being so self centered and think of others, just for once in your life. You never know you might actually get to like the experience. We all live in hope. "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty".
Winston Churchill

7:30 am August 1, 2010

the prophet wrote :

Hey Bozos of the world. Wake up and look outside the closet you're currently living in. If "you" don't change your life style then your life style will change "you".
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not, can be taught. Teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows, is a prophet. Follow him.

8:42 am August 1, 2010

Concerned voter/tax payer wrote :

Way to go Mr Limbaugh. Would have used your first name but you are entitled to respect and the title MR!
Historyof Mr Gibb's comments, endorsed by the White House and/or the President, would indicate he doesn't know where the pigeon's are kept. Love his 'misquotes' and left handed apology. Would be amusing if it weren't so serious.

10:16 am August 1, 2010

American Spartan wrote :

Rush is right. More do as I say not as I do rhetoric. Supply and demand is driven by consumer wants not government force. If there is a market for the car people will buy it force standards compliance to rules is NOT driven by consumers. High cost and fewer options is a bad thing....doesn't really compare well with their traditional stance on "diversity" does it?

5:00 pm August 1, 2010

Art4Joy wrote :

It is hard to believe that the Pres. Admin. would not know that Rush was a spokesman for GM and in fact would be considered an employee. What is wrong with these people? What are they smoking? It seems they can't help themselves because they continually put both their feet in their mouth.

8:10 am August 2, 2010

r ren wrote :

i trust mr. rush much more than i ever would trust this crooked administration. enough said

4:02 pm August 2, 2010

R. Swain wrote :

Rush Limbaugh is selfish billionaire nut. Thank God their is just few of then in this country.

4:44 pm August 2, 2010

TED wrote :

Rush and his listeners are the "wackos", how anyone can take him seriously is beyond me.

8:08 am August 3, 2010

PopeyeDoyle wrote :

What's amusing to me is how conservatives label the Volt a flop and liberals label it a "greenwash" halo car. What few understand is the engineering accomplishment that the Volt is. It's an American accomplishment. It's our engineers, our factories, our intellectual property. This is a project nearly ten years in the making. This is no-holds-barred American know-how at work! How can people who purport to be good patriotic American investors fail to understand the most fundamental aspects of how the free market actually works is simply astounding. Brazen disregard for anything that doesn't fit your imbecilic worldview is apparently quite politically chic these days...

3:02 pm August 11, 2010

mmcc wrote :

For more info on the Volt go to gm-volt.com, a blog started in early 2007 by a NY doctor. There are over 50k signed up on the unofficial gm-volt waiting list. I plan on making the Volt our next car purchase when it is available in our area in 18 months or so. The Volt was designed to meet one goal... 70+% of Americans drive 40 miles or less per day. Yes it will be expensive at first but I think 10 years from now most of the cars out there will be some sort of electrical drive. We've got to reduce our dependency on foreign energy, this car is a start.

8:22 am August 20, 2010

Anonymous wrote :

Rush Lambaugh is a moron. It had to believe some people listen to him, but there's always going to be a group.

9:31 am March 10, 2011

Jav wrote :

Rush calls it as he sees it. Liberals rather than argue the point insult the intelligence of those that
do not agree with them. It is a disgusting trait and also a sign of weakness. If the Volt was a car
of note, there would be no need for subsidies. 40mile range is a serious joke. If America want to
succeed in the auto industry, you need to stop building cars that are 2 to 4 years behind the Asians.
Also grow up and respect opposing opinions as if everyone agreed with you, how boring and ugly that would be.

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